Product Description

User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Ian Ringstead
a AudioPhile

Date Reviewed: October 16, 2007

Bottom Line:

I heard the A1's at the recent London Hi-Fi show in September and was amazed by their sound. Initially they sound odd but you soon learn to acclimatise to there beguiling sound.Being compact and easy to drive with no crossover makes them ideal for lower powered amps and the wonderful soundstage and detailng they produce is exceptional for their price and size. Well done Kevin at Aurousal for such a bargain product in these days of expensive components.

What the other reviewer said. Also these speakers are smooth on the top end with little or no sibilance. After hearing these and then going back to multi-way speakers the multi-way's sound wrong with distortion in the tweeters. Its like a veil has been lifted from the music giving more detail. Voices can be very lifelike with plenty of emotion. Instruments also sound real and have more attack. Finish certainly looks very good on these,(i am a cabinet maker) i couldnt fault them.

I dont have these yet but after demoing them for over a week its only a matter of time.

When first hearing these speakers you think where is the top end, as the sibilance in vocals has gone. Its still there but not as strong and doesnt seem to linger. After listening to these and then conventional 2 and 3 ways you realise that the conventionals ones sound wrong. The sibilance becomes tiring and fatiguing.

The mid range is exceptional with detail in vocals and instruments, giving a real and live performance.

The bass may sound a bit light but these do go down as low as some floorstanders. I think these speakers control the bass and there are no cabinet colourations which dont add any boom.

The soundstage widens and adds depth to the music. These speakers do grow on you. Singers have added emotion and instruments seem to hang there in front of you. The finish is very good, i had the beech veneer but the black gloss do look good for extra though. I have listened to some speakers two ,three or more times the price of these and these are the ones that got my foot tapping.
I am going to give this product full rating not for sound but for value as i think they are underpriced for what you get.

I ordered a pair after hearing them at a hi-fi show in London. I was immediately impressed by the articulate and dynamic delivery and overall purity of the sound - like nothing I have heard from multi-way speakers. They really do reveal all the details and body of voices to give a very lifelike perfomance, which is very close to the real thing.

Care is needed with seetting up as they are a bit directional at high frequencies but the image is superp (probably because of this) - a bit like electrostatics, but they do the point source better. I think they look best in piano black.